bicknell



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. W. A. P. BICKNELL.

STEAM AGTUATED VALVE.

N0. 320,212. Patented June 16, 1885.

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(No Model.) 2 SheetsSheet 2. W. A. P. BIGKNELL.

STEAM AGTUATED VALVE.

No. 320,212. Patented June 16, 1885.

\m V///// 95 2 1 ////JW Unrrnn STATES ATENT tries.

'WILLIAM A. P. BIGKNELL, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO DAUPHIN S.HINES, \VILLIAM A. PERRY, AND CHARLES C. VVORTHINGTON.

STEAM-ACTUATED VALVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 320,212, dated June 16,1885.

Application filed November 3, 1884.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, -WILLIAM A. P. BIOK- NELL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at New York, county of New York, and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam ActuatedValves for Direct Acting Engines, fully described and represented in thefollowing specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthe same.

This invention relates generally to that class of engines which areknown as direct-actin g that is to say, those engines in which thepiston-rod acts upon the load directly and not through the medium of acrank.

The invention relates more particularly to the means by which theinduction and exhaust Valve is operated to admit and exhaust the steamto and from the cylinder.

In this class of engines no fly-wheel or other heavy moving part isemployed to distribute and equalize the power, and the moving parts ofthe engine are usually made so light as to acquire but little momentumduringthe stroke. This being the case, it has been found impossible inpractice to operate the induction and exhaust valve directly from thepiston-rod of the engine in the manner common in other classes ofengines, because when the valve has been moved to its center, or intosuch position as to shut off the further ingress of steam to thecylinder behind the advancing piston, the little momentum which themoving parts have will not be sufficient to cause the piston to ad-Vance so as to complete the stroke of the valve,

and thus the engine will be brought to rest before the valve can bemoved sufficiently far to open the induction-port and admit steam infront of the piston to start it upon its returnstroke. This fact hadmade it necessary in this class of engines to provide some means bywhich the valve can be operated, or atleast made to complete its stroke,independently of the movement of the main piston and piston-rod. It isto an apparatus for this purpose that the present invention particularlyrelates, it being the object of the invention to provide means by which,after the valve has been carried through a part of its stroke by themovement of the main piston and pistonrod, it is made to complete itsstroke inde- (No model.)

pendently of the movement of these parts. It is also the object of theinvention to provide means for this purpose which shall be positive inits action, not liable to be rendered inoperative by wear or leakage,and which shall at the same time give the best distribution of the steamto secure a smooth and quiet action of the engine.

As a full knowledge of the invention and of its mode of operation canonly be imparted by a detailed description of the apparatus in which itis embodied, a further preliminary description will not be given; butthe apparatus will now be described in detail, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of adirect-acting engine provided with a valve-operating mechanism embodyingthe present invention, the cover of the steamchest being removed. Fig. 2is a crosssection of the same, taken upon the line a: a: of Figs. 1 and3. Fig. 3 isalongitudinal section of the same, taken upon the line 12 vof Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section upon an enlargedscale taken upon the linez z of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 is asimilar viewshowing the parts in a different position.

Referring to said figures, it is to be understood that the engine thereshown as embodying the invention consists of a steam-power cylinder,100,hav1ng the usual piston, 99, and piston-rod 98, the latter beingarranged to act directly upon the pump-plunger or other load (not shown)which the engine is to move. The cylinder 100 is provided with the usualsteam-chest, 97, having an opening, 96,through which the steam isadmitted from the boiler or other sources of supply, and with anordinary D valve, 95, which controls the induction and exhaust ports 1011, and exhaustoutlet 12 of the cylinder in the usual manner.

The valve-rod 94 enters the steam-chest 97 through a stuffing-box in theusual manner, and is operated from the piston-rod 98 through anysuitable form of connections, as the cross head 90, link 91, lever 92,and link 93. The rod 94., instead of being connected directly to thevalve 95, is connected to a yoke, 50, which passes around the valve,and-is arranged to roe move freely back and forth upon shoulders orledges 13, formed upon the sides of the steamchest. The yoke is of suchlength as to afford considerable lost motion between it and the valve,so that during the first part of the stroke of the piston 99 the yokewill move idly without giving any movement tothevalve, and willonlycommence to'move the valve as the piston nears the end of its stroke.

Mounted upon the top of the valve is a small auxiliary cylinder, 89,which may be made integral with the valve or secured thereto, and whichis provided with a piston, 14, the rod '15 of which passes through theend of the cylinder and is secured to the end of the chest 97. Theattachment of the rod 15 to the chest may be effected in any convenientmanner, but the rod will preferably be attached in the manner shown inthe present case, so that when the top 88 of the chest is removed thevalve 95, including the auxiliarycylinder 89 and its piston andpiston-rod, can be readily lifted out of the chest.

The cylinder 89 is provided at its opposite ends with induction andexhaust ports 3 4, which pass laterally and open upward through the faceof a narrow shoulder or projection, 17, formed on the side of the Valve95, and upon which is arranged a small B-valve, 18, which is slightlygreater in length than the valve 95. The shoulder 17, which formsa seatfor the valve 18, is provided just outside the ports 3 4 with verticalducts or poits 5 6, which open downward through the lower face of thevalve 95 in such position that as the valve is moved back and forth theyare brought into communication respectively with two small ducts orports, 1 2, which extend from the face of the seat 16, upon which thevalve 95 reeiprocates to its ends so as to open into the chest 97.

The valve 95 is also provided with a third cavity 19 of the valve.

The valve 18 is held in position upon its seat by means of abearing-piece, 20, which by means of projections 40, formed upon itsupper side, which engage with this bearing-'- piece 20.

The opperation of the apparatus just de-.

scribed is as follows: Assumingthe engine to be in motion and the piston99 to have own menced its stroke from the right toward the left-hand endof the cylinder 100, as it proceeds upon its stroke in this directionthe lever 92 will move the valve-rod 94 and the yoke is secured to theside of the valve, and its, stroke in each direction is limited orcontrolled steam to the cylinder, and this will continue until the valvearrives in the position shown in Figs. 3 and 4, in which position itwill cut off the further admission of steam to thecylinder in front ofthe piston, so that the latter will be arrested. The lever 92 is soproportioned, however, that when the valve has been moved to thisposition the piston 99 will have arrived at the end of its stroke, asalso shown inFig. 3. As

soon, however, as the valve arrives in the position just stated, theport 6 will be brought into communication with the port 2, as shown inFig. 4, so that the live steam from the chest 97 will pass through theports 2 6 4 into the righthand end'of the cylinder 89. The piston 14- ofthis cylinder being held stationary by its rod 15 the steam thusadmitted will act upon the end of the cylinder, so as to force it, andwith it the valve 95, over to the position shown in Fig. 5, and thuscomplete the stroke of the front of the piston 99 to start it upon itsreturn-stroke, and at the same time open the port 11 to admit the steamalready upon the opposite side of the piston to be exhausted throughsaid port and the outlet 12 As the piston proceeds upon itsreturn-stroke the yoke 50 will be moved in the opposite direction untilit is brought into contact with the opposite end of the valve 18, whenit will shift said valve from the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5 backto that shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5, so as to close the port 6 andopen communication between the ports 4 7, and thus permit the steam inthe cylinder 89 to be exhausted through the port 9 into theexhaust-outlet 12, and at the same time open communication between theports 3 5. As the piston 99 ad- 1 vances and completes its stroke, thevalve will be moved back to its center, which will bring the port 5 intocommunication with the port 1, so as to admit steam through the ports 15 3 into the opposite end of the cylinder 89, which will operate in themanner already stated to complete the stroke of the valve in thisdirection and again reverse the movement of the piston 99, and so theoperation will continue to be repeated, the valve 95 being moved to itscenter at each stroke by the piston 99, and

then from its center on to complete its stroke by the action of thesteam in the auxiliary cylinder 89.

If at any time the speed of the engine should be accelerated to such anextent that the piston 99 should not be arrested as soon as the valve 95arrives at its center the further movement of the piston would carry thevalve past valve and open the port 10 to admit steam in the center, andthus at once open the induction-port leading to the front of the pistonand admit live steam to that end of the cylinder, so as to cushion thepiston and prevent it from coming into contact with the cylinder head.

It will be observed that sufficient space is left between the ports 3 4and the heads of the cylinder 89, so that the steam confined in thisspace after the piston 14 has covered the ports will form a sufficientcushion to prevent the ends of the cylinder from coming into contactwith the piston.

The ports 1 2 will preferably be located as shown, so that they will beout of communication withthe ports 5 6 when the valve is at the limit ofits stroke in either direction, thus cutting off the steam from thecylinder 89 and preventing loss from leakage past the piston 14 whilethe piston 99 is making its stroke. These ports may, if desired, beprovided with suitable cocks or valves, as 21, by which the amount ofsteam allowed to pass through these ports can be regulated, thusproviding an efficient means for timing the movement of the valve. Bythis means the movement of the valve can be so delayed that the piston99 will be made to have a pause at the end of each stroke.

If the valve 18 should become worn, or for any reason should fitimperfectly, so as to permit the steam to leak past it and enter thecylinder 89 before the valve has been moved into position to opencommunication between the ports 1 5 or 2 6, such steam will find anescape through port 5 or 6, channel 8, and the ports 7 and 9 to theexhaust-outlet 12, and thus prevent a premature movement of the valve.

It will, readily be seen that the apparatus 0 just described is simplein its construction;

not liable to get out of order; that the parts are all readilyaccessible in case that repairs are needed, and that it can be producedat a comparatively small cost. The piston 14 is much less inclined toget out of line or stick than the doublechest plungers commonly employedto throw the. valves of this class of engine, and requires lessmachine-work. It also requires much less material, and can therefore bemade, if desired, of brass or other suitable metal that will not rust tothe cylinder. The loss from leakage is also much less than in theordinary construction, as the steam can be cut off from the cylinder 89after the valve has been reversed, as already explained.

I do not limit myself to the precise eonstruciion of devices hereinshown for operating the valve-rod 94, as it will readily be seen thatalmost any of the ordinary devices for this purpose might be employed inthe present case without departing from the spirit of the invention.Thus, by making the valve of B instead of D form, a simple tappetmovement might be employed for operating the rod 94, and in such casethe lost motion between the valve and the yoke 50 would beproportionately reduced; but such devices would not be as desirable asthe lever movement herein shown, because the valve could not in thatcase be closed gradually at the end of the stroke of the piston 99, andthe engine would consequently not have the advantage of thecorresponding gradual reduction in speed at the end of the stroke.

Neither do I limit myself to the precise arrangement herein shown of theports for ad mitting and exhausting the steam to and from the auxiliarycylinder 89, as the arrangement of these ports may be variedconsiderably without departing from the invention.

What I claim is 1. In a direct-acting engine, the'combination, with themain cylinder, piston, and piston-rod, of the main valve provided withor carrying an auxiliary cylinder having a stationary piston andpistonrod, and suitable ports for admitting and exhausting steam, thevalve 18, arranged to control the admis sion and exhaust of the steam toand from the auxiliary cylinder, and connections, substanstantially asdescribed, by which the valve 18 is moved through its whole stroke andthe main valve through a part of its stroke by the main piston, thewhole being arranged and operating substantially as described.

2. In a direct-acting engine, the combination, with the main valve 95,carrying the auxiliary cylinder 89, having the stationary piston andpiston-rod, and suitable ports for the admission and exhaust of thesteam to and from said auxiliary cylinder, which ports are only broughtinto communication so as to admit the steam after the valve 95 has beenmoved through a part of its stroke, the valve 18 for controlling theexhaust, and connections, as the yoke 50, valve-rod 94, 850., by whichthe valve 18 will be moved to open the exhaust of the auxiliary cylinder89 before the valve 95 commences its stroke, substantially as described.

3. In a direct-acting engine, the combina tion, with the main cylinder,piston, and pistonrod, of the main valve provided with or carrying anauxiliary cylinder having a stationary piston and piston-rod, andsuitable ports for admitting and exhausting steam, the valve 18, forcontrolling the admission and exhaust of the steam to and from theauxiliary cylinder, connections for operating the valve 18 from the mainpiston, and the channel 8, arranged to communicate with the ports 5, 6,and 7, substantially as described.

4. In a direct-acting engine, the combination, with the main cylinder,piston, and piston-rod, of the main valve provided with or carrying anauxiliary cylinder having a stationary piston and piston-rod, the valve18, arranged to control the admission and exhaust of the steam to andfrom the auxiliary cylinder, and suitable ports for the admis- ICC Intestimony whereof I haye hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing 10 witnesses.

W. A. P. BICKNELL.

Witnesses:

J. A. HoVEY, T. H. PALMER.

